As a result of the item about place names, Tom from N. Carolina wrote in to add: in the US state of Georgia we have Cairo, Athens & Rome. There is also Moscow in the state of Idaho; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Frankfort, Kentucky and Odessa, Texas. The state of Connecticut has a bunch of place names reminiscent of England – Norwich, Devon, Stratford, Manchester, Windsor Locks, New London, etc.

Crystal from California wrote in to say: “isn't the joke about Simpsons that they called the town Springfield because there's one in every state? That's the rumour, anyway. Anyone know if there is some truth about this?”

Kim from Massachusetts also spotted Moscow, Russia and Moscow, Idaho and Moscow, Vermont.

Doug from Maine e-mailed the Beetle to say that although he lived for 11 years in London, he and his family now live Maine, topmost on the east coast of the USA. Doug goes on to say that Maine residents came from all over the world over the last 3 centuries, primarily from Europe. Many of those first immigrants liked to name their new homes after their previous homes in the “Old Country.” (Many, many came from Britain and we have too many British town names to mention here.) Some of the more interesting names of Maine towns include:

Carthage Orient, China, Paris, Lebanon, Peru, Levant, Poland, Madrid, Rome, Mexico, Smyrna, Moscow, Sweden, Naples, Troy, Norway, Vienna.

Many thanks to all of those who wrote in.

Scotland's first long distance walk, The West Highland Way, is 152km (95 miles) long and links Milngavie (north of Glasgow) to Fort William. It takes walkers along the shores of the country's largest freshwater loch, Loch Lomond, and on passed the foot of its highest mountain, Ben Nevis. What follows is a look how at how two new walkers got on through one particular day in June 2003…

A day’s hard walk along the West Highland Way ran ahead of us. From the Kingshouse Hotel lay 18 miles of military built roads, graveled tracks and rocky footsteps as our trail crossed Rannoch Moor and wound its way onto Tyndrum. Alan and I edged nervously out of the warmth and noticed that the darkly shrouded Buachaille Etive Mór seemed to regard our departure with disdain and scepticism. The reason probably lay in the near horizontal rain that drove hard at our fellow walkers, and us, as we made slow progress over the shoulders of early hills.

The weather used many tactics in its onslaught that day – from rain clouds swooping down from the high peaks of the Glencoe/Grampian mountains through to swirling winds and persistent downpours. Our quality clothing and boots struggled vainly to protect us from the worst but the unremitting nature of the elements soon ground down our resistance! The only respite came and went if the old military road changed direction out of the wind or if a forest plantation shielded our steps.

Strangely, this battering and the never-ending numbers of switchback turnings never caused me to want to stop – enough was never enough! Before this holiday I never knew I had it in me to enjoy such experiences. A large part of this was down to Alan’s brilliant idea of using a luggage transfer service – apologies to the many walking purists, but this choice seemed to liberate our efforts and we were able to enjoy the walk for walking’s sake. Another help was that forest plantations allowed us take breaks when we needed to – previously I would have cursed at these eyesores on Scotland’s landscapes but now the relative shelter allowed us to recharge our batteries and watch the countless stream of north to south human traffic pass us by. In some ways I got so accustomed to the day’s weather patterns that if we caught ourselves enjoying a respite and maybe the sun nearly breaking through, we knew we were probably due to receive a severe soaking within minutes!

And yet despite the weather dominating our day, there was still plenty to notice and marvel at. Rannoch Moor is a patchwork of grasses, wild flowers, granite, gushing streams and rugged settings. The professional road building efforts of Wade and Caulfield lifted our trail across bridges and allowed the downpour to drain off into nearby lochans. Foxglove, rhododendrons, buttercups and daises flourished where the suggestion of clinging on for dear life was the order of the day. Whilst I’m not much of an ornithologist, Alan was more than happy with his day’s bird watching – our tramping disturbed many a skylark and further down the way he was surprised to come across the pitched cheeping of an Oyster Catcher.

Comparatively, the day’s route was far easier going than the mountain walks of Glen Nevis down to Kingshouse and as such we made startlingly good progress to the halfway point at Victoria Bridge. We had covered almost 10 miles in 3 hours or so, which was well above my expected average of 2 miles an hour. Nonetheless the warmth of coffee and a glass of Macallan at the Inveroran Hotel did much to ready us for the struggle of the second half of the day, particularly up the contours of Mam Carraigh. My faltering steps were eventually rewarded with the descent into the Bridge of Orchy, where a sturdy military bridge has stood dominating the scenery for over 200 years. What really caught my eye though was the simplicity of the River Orchy flowing past all manner of colour from its merging with the Allt Kinglass river – the yellow gorse, green pines and red poppies all enhanced the location’s contemplative worth.

Away down the Way our trail crossed back and forth across the train tracks of the West Highland Railway, as we traversed our final valley into Tyndrum. As this valley narrowed considerably and the railway, our path and the main trunk road (A82) all sought the easiest route through it. However the stern munros (little mountains – Beetle) of Beinn Dorain and Beinn Odhar hampered all, and our weary efforts over the last 6.5 miles slowed as the day’s weariness compounded into our legs and another gusting wind met us head on. Even surly Highland Cattle seemed nonplussed at our presence and the fell runners who appeared from nowhere strode past us with an enviable ease.

Finally the last of these 18 miles were left behind and Tyndrum drew us into its warmth and left us to reflect on how and why we had enjoyed such a day.

If you’d like to contact Matt, to ask him any questions or ask advice, please e-mail him on: matt

As a result of our discussion on guidebooks, the following people have sent in their recommendations for guidebooks not on the Beetle’s list. They are:

From Globetrotters webmaster Paul, Sunflower books, based in London, are travel guidebooks with topographical maps for walking and touring in southern Europe, specialising in Mediterranean and Atlantic islands. For more information on titles covered etc, see http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk

Tracy from Illinois wrote in to say that she is a pretty big fan of the Rick Steve's Guidebooks, http://www.ricksteves.com. Tracy says: “He only covers Europe and fairly limited on Eastern Europe but I lived by these books for travels to many countries. I like his common sense approach to travel and his recommendations are pretty sound.”

Do you have a favourite guidebook that we haven’t covered, or one that was just terrible? E-mail the Beetle and let us know about it!

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIAS) recently warned that several new security measures intended to deter terrorists from entering the United States will also quite likely put off foreign tourists. The rules, which will take effect over coming months, means that all tourists who require a visa to enter the US will be interviewed by immigration officials. The TIAS notes that by January, the government will expand its tracking system for foreign visitors, which will include fingerprints and photographs. Officials say the changes are necessary for protection against terrorism. Travel executives, representing the largest airlines, hotels, cruise lines and car rental companies were critical, saying that the measures could further weaken the tourism industry. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, there has been a 20% drop on the number of international visitors to the US.

What does this mean for foreign visitors? US visa staff in embassies and consulates around the world will begin to interview almost all tourists who apply for visas, and this will create significant delays. In the past, consular officials had the option of allowing tourists who did not present security risks or did not seem likely to overstay their visas to apply by mail. In countries assessed likely to be sources of terrorists or illegal aliens, consular officials already routinely conduct interviews of visa applicants. For visitors from the 27 or so countries, mostly in Europe, who are not required to obtain visas, they will be required to produce computer-readable passports. Most British and Japanese visitors already have such passports, but travellers coming from France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland do not routinely carry computer-readable passports.

This is the second of three descriptions of the 24 sites of “outstanding universal value”, that have been designated world heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

These are as follows:

· The Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica in Trebic, Czech Republic: A reminder of the co-existence of Jewish and Christian cultures in the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. The Jewish Quarter provides an insight into a community of a bygone era, while the St Procopius' Basilica, built in the 13th Century, is an example of the influence of Western European architecture on the region.

· James Island and related sites, Gambia: Significant for its relation to the beginning and abolition of the slave trade. An early gateway to the interior of Africa.

· Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, India: Located in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. Contains five clusters of natural rock shelters, displaying paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic period right through to the Historical period.

· Takht-e Soleyman, Iran: The archaeological site in north-western Iran includes the principal Zoroastrian sanctuary partly rebuilt in the Ilkhanid (Mongol) period (13th Century) as well as a temple of the Sasanian period (6th and 7th Centuries AD) dedicated to Anahita.

· Ashur (Qala'at at Sherqat), Iraq: The ancient city of Ashur dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. From the 14th to the 9th Centuries BC, it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire. The city was destroyed by the Babylonians, but revived during the Parthian period in the 1st and 2nd century AD.

· The White City of Tel-Aviv – the Modern Movement, Israel: The White City was constructed from the early 1930s until 1948. The buildings were designed by European-trained architects, who created an outstanding architectural ensemble of the modern movement in a new cultural context.

· Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, Italy: The nine Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of northern Italy are groups of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th Centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith.

· The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Kazakhstan: The mausoleum, in the town of Yasi, now Turkestan, was built from 1389 to 1405. It is one of the largest and best-preserved constructions of the Timurid period (1370-1507 AD).

Source: BBC News

Oh dear, oh dear, the airline we love to hate, Ryanair has just got itself into trouble in Germany, for saying that it flies to Dussledorf.

A court in Cologne said that it was deceptive advertising to use the description Niederheim (Dussledorf) as the airport is over 40 miles away from the city. (Is that all? Beetle). Ryanair accused Lufthansa and Dussledorf Airport of supporting the action brought against it by an Unfair Competition organisation. Lufthansa has denied the claim.

And still on the subject of court action, a French court has upheld complaints against low-fare carrier Ryanair and stopped the airline from accepting local subsidies (EUR560,000 (USD$644,000) a year from the local Chamber of Commerce) to publicise flights and build up passenger numbers on the London Stansted – Strasbourg route.

It is the first time a ruling has been made barring the airline from making financial deals with local tourist authorities or airports to boost its passenger traffic. Ryanair says it will appeal against the decision.

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

OK, don’t look – can you name the five largest lakes in the world? A quick clue, one of them is a sea.

Globetrotters meeting 5^th July 2003 by Padmassana

This month we enjoyed slides from club members encompassing destinations all round the Globe. So going (very) roughly in a westerly direction from London this is what we saw. The architecture and vineyards of Paris and London (Dick Curtis). We headed north to the spectacular Northern lights (Dan and Dwayne). In southern Europe we saw what the Aeolian Islands have to offer for walkers (Jeannie Copland). Across the Med’ we saw the sand and towns of Libya (John Williams).

Heading into Asia we saw the Teji Festival in Mustang (Marianne Heredge) before heading north-west via the Karakoram Highway to the Silk route of western China. (Neil Harris). In Thailand we saw the Karan people with their decorative neck wear. (Helen Barnhill). Our next stop was the wonderful South Korean island of Cheju. (Kevin Brackley). We then crossed to Japan for views of Kyoto. (Sue Baker). Across the Pacific to the Argentinean capital Buenos Aires. (Phil Ferguson). Finally we saw a series of slides on the theme of water which took us from Iguacu Falls and back across the Atlantic to Iceland’s geysers and waterfalls. (Gavin Fernandes).

There is no London meeting in August. Our next London meeting will be on Saturday 6^th September:

John Gimlette will talk on Paraguay – The Island surrounded by Land. Award-winning writer, John, takes us round a country that has emerged from centuries of isolation. As one of the most beguiling and eccentric places there is, we visit a vast lost ocean, the battlefields of the bloodiest war man has known, picked Victorian warships, cannibals, a highland ball and plenty more. John's book “At the Tomb of the inflatable Pig.”

Richard Snailham, a Globetrotters Club Vice President will talk about On Reed Boats down rivers in Bolivia and Paraguay. Following a hunch that cocaine and nicotine might have reached the Old World from the New in very early times, John Blashford-Snell had three reed boats built on Lake Titicaca and tested them out on the Desaquadero river and subsequently reaching Buenos Aires and Belem in similar craft.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk